Microsoft and Amazon Lead Magnificent Seven Stocks Despite Recent Lags

Microsoft and Amazon, two of the 'Magnificent Seven' stocks, are great buys for patient long-term investors despite their underwhelming performance over the past few years. Microsoft's cloud growth in its recent quarter was an encouraging sign that its high spending was paying off. The company spent $175 billion in fiscal 2026 and plans to spend another $175 billion this year, but its Azure revenue increased 43% year-over-year.

Amazon has also been criticized for its high spending, with a plan to spend $220 billion this year, but its cloud platform AWS remains its profit driver. AWS's growth stalled for a while, but it jumped 36.7% in the second quarter, the biggest increase in 18 quarters.